Sunday, October 23, 2011

I just finished reading "Master Your Metabolism" by Jillian Michaels. Wow. Let me just say that at first, all I read it for was to find a new diet regime. I'm a bit of a serial dieter, so pretty much every month I move on to the next new thing. But after reading this book, it opened up my eyes to what's more important than just being a yo-yo dieter: Being HEALTHY.

The book really goes in depth into how our hormones play a huge role in why some of us hold onto weight more than others. If you are the kind of person that will only lose 2 lbs after weeks of working out 5x/week and eating very little calories, you may have an imbalance with the hormones in your body. Many people have thyroid issues and don't even realize it. What's even more interesting, is that many of the hormone imbalances that we have are caused NOT by genetics, but by the type of food we put into our body and the timing that we eat throughout the day. So our bodies are going hay-wire, trying to regulate hormones that shouldn't be in the body, which slows everything down - including weight loss! Ahh!!

The beef that we eat comes from cows that were given estrogen hormones to fatten them up about 3 lbs per day. This is for obvious reasons. More meat = more money. The problem is that the saying rings true - YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. If your beef has been injected with hormones, the beef on your plate has those very same hormones, and the milk that comes from those cows have those very same hormones.

Milk?? What the, what?! Mamas.. need I say more? If you are giving your toddler regular milk, thinking that it's benefiting them, it really isn't. There are such high levels of estrogen in our milk (cow and soy) that there is research showing young boys growing up with issues with their sex organs, as well as young girls getting their period too early and developing breasts too soon. Yikes! And you know how there are more diagnoses of ADHD in America? Well research has been starting to link these cases with the crap in our food. And what do our doctors do? Just give our poor kids medications that just screw up their chemical/hormonal levels even more. Ugh!

I can go on and on about it - and maybe I will in a later post. Needless to say, I went food shopping yesterday and pretty much changed everything in our fridge and cupboards, from organic eggs, peanut butter, and pasta, to organic milk, juice, and snacks for my little guy (and big guy too). By the way, it wasn't much more expensive than buying regular groceries and eating healthy now will save us money in the future w/ reduced medical costs later! In total, we spent $150. The norm is about $120, but we also were doing a total overall and purchasing things that we won't be buying every week. So it's well worth it.

Oh, and guess what? My son didn't even notice the change in milk, and I think he enjoyed the organic milk even more! I tell you, it feels great to be able to confidently give your baby food that you know has no preservatives, no hormones, no funkiness at all. :) And if hubby and I lose weight in the process, it'll be an added bonus!

About Me

I'm a 31 year old gal dedicated to being a super mama, daughter, sister, and friend. I love crafting, and enjoy creating, researching, and sharing crafts with my son and all of my bloggy friends. I also work as a Social Work Supervisor in the Bronx. I live on Long Island with my two cats, my rabbit, and the most adorable preschooler imaginable!